| 3 | Author: | State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | Requires cookie* | | Title: | State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Records
| | | Dates: | 1819-1955 | | | Abstract: | These two volumes record the admissions to Eastern State Penitentiary for the years 1839-1850 (excluding, apparently, 1844). The records contain a wealth of information about each prisoner admitted. The entries often contain a physical description of the inmate, a description of the crime(s) committed, and, occasionally, statements the prisoner made. Most entries contain a detailed biographical history of the prisoner that includes information on the background of the criminal, such as their family life, how they were raised, previous incarcerations, and the social habits of the prisoner, such as drinking in taverns or their religiosity.
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| | | Call #: | Mss.365.P381p | | | Extent: | 0.5 Linear Feet | | | Topics: | Government Affairs | Law | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | | | Genre: | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | | | Subjects: | Prisoners -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Prisons -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Women prisoners -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | |
5 | Author: | unknown | Requires cookie* | | Title: | Documents relating to the Wyoming Controversy, 1751-1814, 1823
| | | Dates: | 1751-1823 | | | Abstract: | This volume relates to the controversy between Pennsylvania and Connecticut over control of the northern third of what is today Pennsylvania. While much of this documentation is available in printed sources – namely the Pennsylvania Archives and the Papers of the Susquehanna Company – these are originals of these documents. Some of the documents in the APS collection do not appear to be part of these printed collections, notably a series of legal documents and pronouncements that contain marginalia that may be of interest to historians. The documents span the entire period of the controversy, with the first documents dated from the 1750s and the last ones from the early nineteenth century. Many are manuscript copies of originals.
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| | | Call #: | Mss.974.83.D65 | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | Topics: | Colonial Politics | Pennsylvania History | | | Genre: | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | | | Subjects: | Land settlement -- Pennsylvania. | |
10 | Author: | Philadelphia (Pa.).Mayor. | Requires cookie* | | Title: | Record of indentures of individuals bound out as apprentices, servants, etc., and of German and other redemptioners, 1771 October 3 - 1773 October 5
| | | Dates: | 1771-1773 | | | Abstract: | This large volume contains the records of those entering contracts of indentured servitude in Philadelphia from 1771-1773. The records not only list the name of the person, but contain details on their profession and on the terms of the indenture. Although the volume is described as the records of German immigrants, there are other indentures included, such as that of John Slour, "a free negro," records of those arriving from Ireland, and of young Philadelphians choosing to enter indentured contracts. The volume had been on loan to the City Archives until 1987. During that time, approximately twenty pages went missing. Otherwise, the volume appears to be complete and contains over 800 pages of records with each page containing information for about four to six individuals.
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| | | Call #: | Mss.647.P53 | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | Topics: | African American | Business and Skilled Trades | Government Affairs | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Women's History | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | | | Subjects: | Apprentices -- Pennsylvania. | Germans -- United States. | Indentured servants -- Pennsylvania. | |
12 | Author: | Cassin, Charles Luke, 1846-1878 | Requires cookie* | | Title: | Charles Luke Cassin papers, 1745-1878
| | | Dates: | 1745-1878 | | | Abstract: | The Cassin Collection is heavily focused on Charles Luke Cassin's correspondence in the late nineteenth century. Charles Cassin was a physician in the U.S. Navy in the late-nineteenth century. His family's roots date to the colonial era. There are approximately seven documents from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, however. This portion of the collection includes three legal documents from colonial Pennsylvania that were likely handed down through the family: one is a will for Aaron Thompson dated 1745, another is an indenture from 1758, and another is a copy of a court decision in Berks County in 1774. There are two letters from James Mullins to Eliza Cassin relating to their past affairs and children. Finally, there are official documents relating to Joseph Cassin, Charles Luke's father, including a commission in the U.S. Navy signed by James Madison.
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| | | Call #: | Mss.B.C274 | | | Extent: | 70 item(s) | | | Topics: | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | Legal Records | Military Records | Official Government Documents and Records | | | Subjects: | Medicine -- United States. | Trust indentures. | |
15 | Author: | Smyth, Frederick, 1732-1815 | Requires cookie* | | Title: | Frederick Smyth papers, 1756-1816
| | | Dates: | 1756-1816 | | | Abstract: | Frederick Smyth was the Chief Justice of New Jersey before the American Revolution (appointed in 1764). Before that, he lived in England, Barbados, and Martinique. This collection of Smyth papers contains a range of official documents that relate to political and legal matters in New Jersey. The legal documents include petitions, reports to the grand jury, and official pronouncements and commissions. There are also several pieces of private correspondence. Some of the earliest documents contain information on Smyth's career before arriving in New Jersey. There is also a deposition relating to the firing on HMS St. John in Newport, Rhode Island in 1764 and a series of other documents relating to legal and political affairs in Rhode Island during the imperial crisis. Of particular note are two long speeches Smyth delivered before a grand jury in 1775 and 1776 in which he defends the Crown, a response to these speeches from the grand jury defending American rights, and a long letter from Edward Affleck in 1783 describing the British departure from New York City. Smyth stayed in Philadelphia after the war, although he never relinquished his British citizenship, and there are a few documents chronicling his post-war experience.
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| | | Call #: | Mss.B.Sm95 | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colony and State Specific History | Law | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence | | | Subjects: | Judges -- New Jersey. | Legal instruments -- New Jersey. | |
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